Yarphese people
Yarphese is the demonym for those living in the Grand Yarphese Republic or having immigrated from that area. It has been met with some controversy, however. A Yarphese person is described as one born and/or raised in the area which is now known as Yarphei, and having lived there after the area became part of Yarphei for a lengthy amount of time. Due to the closed nature of Yarphei, there are few famous Yarphese not involved in politics, but there are many immigrants known as Yarphese. Immigration from Yarphei is a difficult process, and may involve years of waiting for civilians. However, there are several VLA members living overseas as representatives from Yarphei. Yarphese are not unified by a single ethnic group, as many come from diverse backgrounds such as Chinese or Vietnamese. Etymology The Vietnamese word for "Yarphese" as a demonym is simply Ngườı Phờı (Yarphese People). In the United States, especially, the need for a demonym grew with in increase in the number of immigrants from Yarphei. While most immigrants preferred to keep their designations as "Vietnamese," "Cambodian," "Thai," "Malay," and "Singaporean," respectively, it still seemed necessary. The "Grand Yarphese Republic," until 1998, was romanized as both the "Grand Yarphei Republic" and even the "Grand Vietnamese Republic" on different occasions. The first attempt at a demonym's use was that of Australian political writer Richard A. Hughes in 2000, who described the "Yarphs" as socialists who leave Australia to find a better life above the rest of the population. However, this was disapproved by those trying to find a demonym for the country itself, rather than a symbolic meaning. While most immigrants from Yarphei preferred to go by their former country's name, eventually it was submitted in an anonymous letter to the Australian president that the demonym should be Yarphese. The demonym took place of "Yarphei" and "Vietnamese," and has been in place ever since. Most believe premier of Yarphei Trầng Chúp Long himself was the letter-writer. Currently the term "Yarphite" has begun to prevail, especially in Canada, because of the growing movement to pronounce "Yarphei" correctly as "Yar-PHUH-ee." Controversy The unification of so many regions posed a problem of finding a demonym. While nationalists outside of Yarphei have discouraged the use of the demonym, others have accepted it rather well. In a study in 1998, 74% of Yarphese believe the demonym would take away from their cultural identity, since the Yarphese "official" culture has little to do with that of most of those living in it outside of Vietnam. That number has decreased in recent years to 34% in 2004. The tensions are overall small, but some protestors such as Van Sengly, a Cambodian immigrant to the Canada, has given several speeches in protest around Calgary, the nation's capital, directed towards Canadian denunciation of the demonym Yarphese. The only English-speaking countries that officially oppose the demonym Yarphese currently are Jamaica and Ireland, using it only to describe the government and not the people. Some such as Heng Chee How, a Chinese immigrant to Calgary from Singapore, believe that the demonym Yarphese, despite disregarding national identities, helps to unify those living in the diverse area now known as Yarphei. In Other Languages While other countries have had similar troubles, the controversy is on a political, rather than ethical scale. The Spanish refer to the Yarphese as los yarfos, with the adjective form being yarfo in the singular masculine form. Coutries such as those speaking Mandarin have not been faced with any such problem, as the demonym and country name are both the same (phonetically: 牙尔飞 (simplified), 牙爾飛 (traditional), or in formal contexts 明国 (simplified), 明國 (traditional) "bright country"). In French, the demonym is les jarfois. France is the only other country, however, to officially oppose the use of the demonym to describe the Yarphese people, besides Jamaica and Ireland. Some languages, such as Italian, do not use a demonym, and instead use a translation "Grande Repubblica di Yarfei," translating as "Grand Republic of Yarphei." Category:Yarphei Category:Culture Category:Societies Category:Ethnic groups